Scientists report that an unlikely molecule has emerged as an attractive target for development of therapeutics aimed at a diverse spectrum of tumors, including some malignancies that are resistant to conventional therapies. Two studies published online in Cancer Cell demonstrate that the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) is required for the survival of tumor cells and provide direct evidence that inhibition of IGF-R1 using selective small molecules represents a novel potential anticancer treatment.

Extensive studies have suggested that IGF-1R plays a role in the development of human cancers. IGF-1R is present in a broad range of tumor types including multiple myeloma, lymphoma, leukemia, and breast, lung, prostate, and colon cancers. However, IGF-1R has not been viewed as a likely target for cancer therapeutics because many normal cells also contain the protein. Research scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research Basel demonstrate that IGF-1R inhibition using a variety of methods had potent antitumor effects against many types of cancer cells grown in the laboratory, including cells that are resistant to conventional cancer therapeutics.

Molecular analyses demonstrated that IGF-1R inhibition impacts multiple intracellular signals related to cell proliferation or tumor development and provides possible mechanisms to explain how IGF-1R inhibition can make tumor cells more sensitive to conventional chemotherapy or other anticancer agents. Perhaps most significantly, IGF-1R suppresses tumor growth, prolongs survival, and enhances the antitumor effect of chemotherapy in clinically relevant mouse models of multiple myeloma and other hematological malignancies. The researchers also identify two small molecules that are selective inhibitors of IGF-1R and are active anticancer agents against tumors that contain IGF-1R. These small molecules represent highly attractive potential therapeu
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Contact: Heidi Hardman
hhardman@cell.com
617-397-2879
Cell Press
26-Feb-2004

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